


Eyes Open (to look out for you)

by baevenreyes



Series: Trampoline Park AU [21]
Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: (I didn't mean for it to get so angsty in the beginning soz), Angst, F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Happy ending though
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-22
Updated: 2017-04-22
Packaged: 2018-10-22 17:09:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,714
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10701417
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/baevenreyes/pseuds/baevenreyes
Summary: Kara doesn't really know who she is when she's not Lena's protector. Does Lena really even need her around anymore?orSupercorp at college featuring a tiny bit of jealous!Kara





	Eyes Open (to look out for you)

**Author's Note:**

> Hi there! Post number 21, can you believe it?
> 
> A bunch of people asked for Kara and Lena at college, first fight, and jealous Kara. This isn't quite that (especially not fighting I can't make my babies fight :( ) but it has elements of everything.
> 
> I hope you enjoy!
> 
> Chronological guide in the Series Notes.

Kara has been protecting Lena for as long as she can remember.

It started the day they met, hell, it’s _how_ they met. Kara remembers standing between that playground bully and the then small dark-haired girl with a clarity she’s not sure one is supposed to have for memories that old. She remembers seeing that boy standing over Lena and running over faster than she’s ever ran before – because Lena was scared, and Lena needed her, and who was she to ignore the utter _need_ she felt to save her?

And she’s been protecting her ever since.

When Lena kept getting bullied through elementary and middle school because she was _smart_ but for kids it translated to _nerdy_ and _weird_ , because she was slightly smaller slightly longer than everyone else was, because she was shy and quiet and didn’t like talking to people she didn’t know well. Kara credits the fast growth of their friendship to this stage of their lives – she was so _terrified_ that someone would hurt Lena that she refused to leave her side except when it was absolutely necessary. When you spend every waking moment with someone, you can’t help but become very close very fast. Add to that how utterly _amazing_ Kara thought (still thinks) Lena is? Near instant best friendship.

And then they started dating in junior high, and Kara had to protect her girlfriend from the homophobes in their school and in her own home. It broke Kara’s heart to see the way Lena would shrink into herself when those horrible people commented on her sexuality – because it was always just her, and that made Kara angrier than almost anything else. Because why did Lena, sweet, wonderful, amazing, _beautiful_ Lena have to endure these cruel remarks, but Kara got away scot-free? Kara could count the amount of times people harassed her during her school years on one hand with two fingers to spare, but Lena? Poor Lena had to endure them almost every day, whether directly from the kids at school or indirectly from her parents at home. And the worst part was that Kara couldn’t _really_ protect her from this, or at least not properly. You can’t control what people say, so protecting Lena became soothing Lena with soft kisses and hugs and cuddling and assurances that it would be different in high school.

High school wasn’t different. Well, it was, but not in a good way. In high school, people became _physical_ about their hatred. And so Kara became physical in return, because _no way in hell_ would she stand for _anyone_ hurting the girl she loves. She still remembers having to go to the hospital and Alex stitching her up three weeks into high school – the first time in her life she hit someone. (The part she never told anyone about – not even Lena – is the satisfaction she felt when her fist made contact with Mike’s nose. Because she could finally _do something_ and not just comfort her girlfriend afterwards.)

Then the Luthors found out about them and Kara couldn’t protect Lena from her mother, but she could protect her just fine after Maggie got her out of there – protect her from her nightmares, and try, try, try to protect her from the world.

Kara has been protecting Lena for as long as she can remember.

But now? Now, they’re in college, and college _is_ different, and Lena is _thriving._

For one thing, _no one_ cares about anyone else’s sexuality. Well, only if you’re interested in the person, and want to know if they could like you. Otherwise, people quite literally don’t give a fuck. So, neither of them are having any problems there.

Secondly, being smart – especially as smart as Lena is – is no longer seen as something bad. Lena very quickly became very popular with the people in her classes. And, granted, a lot of them are hoping to score some notes or something, but a lot of others genuinely recognized her intelligence and wanted to be friends with someone like-minded.

And Kara is so, _so_ happy for her girlfriend, she _is_ , Lena deserves the whole entire world in her opinion, and that includes many, many amazingly smart and beautiful friends. It’s just that, well, Lena finally being able to live her life like she wants to – which, again, Kara is overjoyed about – makes Kara feel a little useless. She’s made it her life’s mission to protect the beautiful girl she loves for so long, that now that she no longer needs to, she doesn’t really know what to do with herself.

And it’s okay, it really is, because Lena is _so_ happy, and that is literally _all_ Kara wants. It’s why she’s been protecting her for most of her life in the first place.

She just needs to figure out who she is when she’s not Lena’s protector.

***

“Ugh.”

Kara falls face down on her dorm bed, letting out a long, overdramatic groan. Her roommate, another Journalism major by the name of Cat Grant, sighs from behind her, having just come into the room.

“What now, Danvers? Had too much ice cream again? I keep telling you, they only have those _small_ bowls out for a reason-“

“It’s not ice cream,” Kara mumbles into her pillow.

“What was that?”

Kara turns her head on the pillow so she can look at Cat.

“I said, it’s not ice cream.”

“What is it then?”

“I’ve been thinking too hard all day, and my brain hurts, and all I want is to go see my girlfriend, but her stupid smart-people classes only end at like, _midnight._ ”

“I’m almost sure the engineering classes, _all_ classes at this university in fact, end at five. And that’s only like three hours away.”

“Three _hours_? That’s forever.”

Cat rolls her eyes and Kara sticks her tongue out at her roommate. Despite their damn near conflicting personalities – suffice it to say Kara is a total Hufflepuff, whereas Cat is most definitely a Slytherin – the two had managed to make their living arrangement work quite well. They weren’t, and probably never would be, the best of friends, but they got along and respected each other and even sometimes worked together on assignments to motivate each other.

“Okay, Kara, here’s the plan. Let’s work on that huge assignment for Snapper’s class – you know we’re going to have to tackle that one together, anyway – until your girl’s classes let out, and then you don’t have to feel guilty when you inevitably spend the whole night with Lena. _And_ it will distract you until you can go see her. How’s that?”

“Have I ever told you you’re a great roommate?”

“You have. Not that I’ll get tired of hearing it, ever.”

***

Kara frowns when she reaches Lena’s door. It’s still only five to five, she’d decided to come wait for her girlfriend at her door, but the door is unlocked and she can hear voices from inside. Surely Lena would’ve texted her if her class ended early? Maybe she only just got in, and is just about to do that. Kara smiles when she hears Lena laugh – she would recognize that sound anywhere – and pushes open the door. What she finds is _not_ what she expects to.

She expected to find Lena talking to her roommate, Jess, both of them chilling on their beds after a long day, like they always are when she comes by. What she did _not_ expect was to find her girlfriend at her desk, and an unknown girl sitting on said desk to Lena’s left, but still _way_ too close for Kara’s liking, both of them laughing their heads off. Jess is nowhere in sight.

Kara’s not proud of the surge of jealousy that runs through her body at the sight.

Granted, it dissolves a little when Lena turns around on her chair and her smile doubles in size as their eyes meet.

“Babe!” Lena says, jumping up and flinging herself into Kara’s arms. She goes for a chaste kiss, but Kara deepens it just slightly. She tells herself it’s because she missed Lena today, but she knows it’s because of this other _stupidly hot_ girl sitting in her girlfriend’s room.

Lena pulls back with a slightly confused, though happy, look on her face.

“Kara, this is my friend Ronnie from class. Ronnie, this is my girlfriend Kara.”

The tall girl hops down from the desk and comes over to shake Kara’s hand. Kara hates how elegantly she does it, and she knows it’s totally irrational, but that doesn’t stop her from feeling it. She hates that she now knows this girl is just as smart as Lena, and therefore probably a better fit for her. She pastes a smile on her face, and she sees Lena frown. Lena knows her well enough to know when her smile is fake.

“Veronica Sinclair, my friends call me Ronnie,” the other girl says, her grip on Kara’s hand just slightly too tight. If Kara didn’t know any better, she’d say Veronica’s smile is just as fake as hers.

“Nice to meet you, Veronica, I’m Kara Danvers.”

Lena’s frown deepens slightly at Kara’s refusal to use Veronica’s nickname, but Kara decides to stand by her choice. It might be petty, but she’s feeling extremely jealous and a little insecure right now, and _definitely_ doesn’t want to be _Ronnie’s_ friend.

“I’ll leave you two. Thanks for the study date, Lena, I’ll text you.”

She smirks at Kara before heading to the door, Kara hating every second of her confident swagger. Her frown deepens as she watches Veronica close the door behind her after hugging Lena goodbye.

“Kara, what’s wrong?”

Lena looks concerned, and Kara momentarily feels bad for worrying her girlfriend, so she tries to deflect.

“Nothing’s wrong, babe.” She attempts to smile and pulls Lena closer to her, so their hips press together. “I just missed you today.”

“I missed you too,” Lena says, placing a soft kiss on Kara’s neck before pulling back. “But _this_ crinkle - “ she pokes at Kara’s forehead – “says that there’s something bigger wrong.”

“Damn crinkle, always giving me away,” Kara mumbles, moving to sit on the bed as she rubs at her forehead. Lena sits in the desk chair, rolling it forward so she’s sitting between Kara’s legs. She tilts Kara’s head up so she’s forced to look into Lena’s green eyes.

“Kara, baby, tell me what’s wrong?”

“Nothing, I just- I- study _date_?”

Kara feels silly, being so insecure about such a small thing, but Lena gives her a soft smile.

“Yeah, our one professor let us out an hour early after giving us a huge project. Ronnie’s my partner, and we decided to use the extra hour to get a start on it. We just finished when you came in; I was just about to text you.”

“So she’s just going to be texting you for the- for the project?”

“Well, we _are_ friends, but yes.”

“Okay. I’m sorry I got so… jealous.”

“Kara.”

“Yes?”

“Look at me.”

Kara looks up, and she can feel the tears pooling in her eyes. _Traitors._

“Kara, please tell me the truth about what’s going on with you. Because we both know that this isn’t just about jealousy, or about Ronnie. We both know how crazy I am about you, that I _love_ you, so what is it that’s making you this insecure?”

Kara gulps. She doesn’t want to tell Lena about what she’s been feeling. Because then Lena is going to feel guilty for being happy, and that’s not what Kara _wants._ Lena deserves everything she’s receiving right now – _especially_ after all the abuse she endured in her early life. It’s not her fault that Kara built most of her purpose around protecting her, and is subsequently now feeling useless. Kara _can’t_ tell her about this, it wouldn’t be fair to her.

“Baby. What on earth has got you this upset?”

Lena cradles Kara’s cheek in her hand, and Kara leans into the touch. She gives a soft sigh, resigning herself to telling the truth. She’s never been able to lie to Lena, anyway.

“I’m- I’m feeling a little insecure about my place in your life. About my place in life, in general, actually. I’m, uh, _god_ this is going to sound so bad.”

Lena shifts so she’s sitting next to Kara on the bed, and pulls them down so they’re lying side by side, facing each other.

“You can tell me anything,” she says, linking their hands together between them. Kara nods, and a tear makes its way down her cheek.

“I… I’m just- I’m used to having to protect you from the world. Ever since we were little, I’ve been- I defend you, I protect you, I comfort you, it’s what I _do_ , you know? And now, well, now the world we’re in is _your_ world, god, Lena, it’s like you were born for college. You’re so _happy_ and vibrant and _thriving_ , and it’s so, so beautiful to see. Really, whatever I say next, know that it makes me _so_ happy to see you like this, in your element, surrounded by the things that make you happy. But, uh, and this is the part that’s going to make me sound like a really shitty person, and maybe I am, for feeling like this, oh god-“

“Kara, sweetie. Just breathe. And just tell me. Nothing you say could ever make me think you’re a shitty person.”

Kara takes a deep breath before starting again.

“Well, it kinda makes me feel like you don’t need me anymore? Like, you don’t need to be protected anymore and it just leaves me wondering where I fit into this new life of yours, and that’s what’s making me so insecure, I guess. And it’s silly, because I _know_ our relationship is _way_ more than just me being your protector, but it’s like my brain won’t let it go? So I spent all day thinking about it and then I had to wait for you to get out of class and then I get here and _Ronnie’s_ sitting just a smidge too close to you and I guess I just snapped a little. I’m sorry.”

She can’t look at Lena’s eyes, at least not until the other girl grabs her chin again and forces her to. Lena’s eyes are shining like they do when she’s determined to figure an equation out, or when someone tells her she can’t do something. Like they do when they say _you better listen the fuck up, because I am really fucking intelligent and I know what I’m talking about._

“Kara Danvers, you listen to me and you listen good. I will always, _always_ need you. Maybe not to physically protect me, no, though I don’t think I’ve told you enough how much that meant to me, even back then. But I need you to love me, I need you to support me, and I need you to hold my hand and put your arm around my waist and kiss me and make love to me, I need you to _love_ me. Do you hear me, Kara? I _need_ you. Always and forever. Okay?”

“I-“

“And don’t you for a _second_ doubt where your place in my life is. Because you know what? Your place is _right by my fucking side_.”

Kara grins at that, and Lena grins back before kissing her senseless.

Kara can’t help but think that she needs Lena for all of those things, too.

And maybe that’s what this new world they’re in is all about.

Belonging right by the other’s side, no matter what.

***

When Veronica Sinclair makes a move on Lena two weeks later, and upon being rejected, asks Lena why on earth she’s settling for a _blonde airhead cheerleader_ when she could have someone who at least matches her intelligence, Lena smirks.

And Lena spends the next forty minutes gushing about Kara, about how _smart_ and _beautiful_ and _sweet_ and _caring_ and _just absolutely wonderful_ she is, and _oh god her abs_. (Veronica can’t even escape, because they’re in class, and attendance is mandatory.)

After class, Lena requests a different project partner.

And then she heads to Kara’s dorm to show her just how much she’s _definitely_ _not_ settling.

***

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you thought and what you would like to see in the comments! Or hit me up on Tumblr @bi-genius.
> 
> I hope you liked it!


End file.
